CPEC SEZs to help in rapid industrialization, generate employment opportunities: S. M. Naveed

ISLAMABAD: Four special economic zones (SEZs) being set up under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) are likely to generate about 575,000 direct and over one million indirect jobs in Pakistan, an official said.

The economic zones being established in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan would bring about immense opportunities for the people in job and business sectors, S. M. Naveed, chairman of Special Economic Zones Authority, said.

“We have conducted a study to assess job opportunities in four out of nine SEZs, including KP’s Rashakai, Sindh’s Dhabeji, Punjab’s Allama Iqbal and Balochistan’s Bostan, to find out potential jobs and industries in the SEZs,” the official said, adding the SEZs offer employment in different fields for which the local youth would be trained before the initiation of the industrial phase.

The trained and skilled labour and engineers would not only get good jobs in the economic zones but also enable Chinese and local companies to recruit skilled professionals from local areas, he added.

The potential industries being set up in the CPEC special economic zones include food processing, cooking oil, ceramics, gems and jewellery, marble, minerals, agriculture machinery, iron and steel, motorbike assembling, electrical appliances and automobiles.

Launched in 2013, CPEC is a corridor linking Pakistan’s Gwadar Port with Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, which highlights energy, transport and industrial cooperation.